Roxette

Marie's greatest claim to fame comes from her partnership with Per Gessle in the Swedish pop duo, Roxette. But Marie has also won fame in her native Sweden with a solo career that has spanned well over 20 years.

Appeal

A generous and good-looking woman, Marie has always had her share of sex appeal. Apart from her personality and looks, Marie scores extra points for her knack for keeping up with the crazy trends of pop music and fashion, as well as for her undeniable charisma.

Yet at 45, Marie is no spring chicken, and her wild days on the road are far behind her. When you add a happy hubby of 10 years and two kids, it's clear that Marie is out of the running, and therefore unattainable.

Success

Both as a part of Roxette and in her solo career, Marie has passed milestones she never expected. She's had multiple albums hit number one, such as Roxette's Look Sharp! and Tourism, and her solo album Äntligen -- Marie Fredrikssons Bästa (Finally - Marie Fredriksson's Best).

In early 2003, Marie and Gessle were awarded the King's Medal of the Eighth Size with Royal Blue Ribbon by the King of Sweden, for Roxette's outstanding achievements both in Sweden and abroad. Marie admitted that such an honor was the furthest thing from her mind when she started out 25 years earlier.

While her Swedish fame seems perennial, Marie's profile abroad -- via Roxette -- has had its ups and downs. Roxette's fame peaked in the early '90s; however, record stores refused to carry Crash! Boom! Bang! in '93, after a sample version was sold at McDonald's. Lately, Roxette has had trouble with its last few US record labels, so the group's profile in America remains lower than Marie might have hoped.

Roxette Biography

Marie Fredriksson, the face of Roxette, was born Gun-Marie Fredriksson, on May 30, 1958, in Õssjo, Sweden. She was the youngest of father Gösta and mother Inez's five children. In 1962, when Marie was four, the family relocated to Östra Ljungby, in Skåne (southern Sweden).

While still a little girl, Marie decided she wanted to be a musician, and learned to sing and play the piano. Instructed at a tiny, 10-student schoolhouse, Marie continued to write and play music.

She formed her first amateur band at age 11. Marie focused on music during high school to the detriment of her other studies. Leaving school, Marie eventually settled in Halmstad in 1978. Soon she moved in with her boyfriend, Stefan Dembrant, and worked a number of odd jobs, such as waitress, teaching assistant, music teacher, and nurse.

early gigs & going solo

In the meantime, Dembrant formed his own band, called Strulpojkarna, later shortened to Strul. Marie soon joined the band, and before long, she was contributing as a singer, keyboardist and songwriter. During this time, Marie met Per Gessle, who would later become the other half of Roxette.

Gessle was a member of Gyllene Tider, a band that happened to share rehearsal space with Strul. At first, Marie and Gessle disliked each other: she thought he was a yuppie mama's boy, and he thought she was a screeching hippie.

When Strul split up for good in 1982, Marie decided to make a go of a solo career. Gessle, who had become her friend, encouraged her in this pursuit. In 1984, Marie released her first solo record, Het Vind (Hot Wind), and she went on tour with Gessle's band the next year.

In 1985, Marie released a second album, Den Sjunde Vågen (The Seventh Wave). Gessle then asked Marie if she wanted to form a new, English-language band with him. She agreed, and the duo decided to name themselves Roxette, after a song by 1970s British band Dr. Feelgood.

skyrocketing roxette

Roxette released their first album, Pearls of Passion, in 1986 (as well as a remix of the album entitled Dance Passion in 1987), followed by Look Sharp! in 1988. Both were hits in Sweden, but went unheard in much of Europe and America. That changed in 1989, when an American exchange student brought their music home to Minneapolis, and insisted that a local radio station play it; after which Roxette's single "The Look" became their breakthrough hit.

"The Look" hit number one in 33 countries, and Look Sharp! sold eight million copies. Roxette went on to record "It Must Have Been Love" for the movie Pretty Woman (starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere) in 1990, which became their third number one ("Listen To Your Heart" was their second), and their most well-known song. Roxette has since recorded such top-selling albums as Joyride (1991) Tourism (1992), Crash! Boom! Bang! (1994), Don't Bore Us Get To The Chorus - Roxette's Greatest Hits (1995), Have a Nice Day (1999), and Room Service (2001).

some personal time

Marie was nevertheless able to maintain her solo career -- in 2000, she released a best of album entitled Äntligen - Marie Fredrikssons Bästa (Finally, Marie Fredriksson's Best) -- and even find love at the peak of Roxette's success in the early '90s. In 1991, Marie met Mikael Bolyos. In 1993, she gave birth to their daughter, Inez Josefin, and married Bolyos the following year. In 1996, the couple had a son, Oscar Mikael.

But tragedy struck when, in 2002, doctors discovered that Marie had a tumor. However, the operation to remove it was a success, and with the support of friends, family and fans, Marie is back on her feet -- and so is Roxette, with a new single entitled "Opportunity Nox."